The Pebble smartwatch

The toast of last week's annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas wasn't a new phone, tablet, computer, or robotic gizmo, but a watch. Then again, the Pebble smartwatch tells a lot more than time. Look for it to be a badge of cutting-edge, techie cool in coming months, as Pebble Technology, the start-up, ships its first watches to backers who placed $10 million worth of preorders last spring through the crowdfunding site Kickstarter (the most successful funding through that site)